Tony Tony ChopperChopper is the crew's physician, and one of the oddest characters amongst a team full of oddballs. He's a reindeer (yes, the Santa Claus kind) that ate a Devil Fruit. The Devil Fruit gave him the ability to speak, think, and change form. Chopper's basic three forms are his original reindeer form, the cute plush-doll "Brain Boost" form that makes him smarter (his most common form), and the "Heavy Boost" form that is a humanoid transformation that gives Chopper super-strength. Chopper can achieve four additional forms by eating a "Rumble Ball".Chopper is the youngest of the crew at 15, and he's a bit na¿ve. He often falls for Usopp's pranks and lies. He's also prone to panic a bit when someone needs medical attention. He'll often run around screaming for a doctor, before remembering that he is one. Nevertheless, he's a very valuable addition to the crew and he definitely kicks up the cute factor of the series.

The Bad Guys

Sir CrocodileAlso known as Mr. 0, he's the president and most powerful member of the crime syndicate known as Baroque Works. He's a huge man with a hook for a left hand. He was once optimistic and ambitious just like Luffy and, like Luffy, Sir Crocodile ate a Devil Fruit that gave him amazing powers. But Sir Crocodile changed with time and became a powerful and evil man, bent on taking whatever he wants from the world.

It's widely believed that Crocodile's character is inspired by Captain Hook from the Peter Pan tale. The hook for a hand is kind of a big hint, as well as the crocodile name. Captain Hook had a notorious fear of crocodiles. Buggy the ClownThere are some people out there that suffer from Coulrophobia, the fear of clowns. Those people should not watch One Piece, since it features a clown pirate. What could be more frightening than a clown with an urge to plunder your booty?Buggy the Clown was once a young pirate apprentice along with Red Haired Shanks. They constantly argued over everything and in general didn't get along very well. The animosity grew into outright hate when Shanks botched Buggy's attempt to steal a Devil Fruit so he could sell it. The incident ended in Buggy accidentally eating the Devil Fruit and thus forever losing the ability to swim which, as mentioned before, really sucks for a pirate on the ocean.But the incident didn't totally screw over Buggy; the Devil Fruit did give him the ability to split himself into up to three pieces. His body parts can also float in mid air so he can, for instance, fire his hands at opponents and strangle them from a distance. Buggy dresses as a clown, complete with makeup. But the big red nose is actually his real nose, and it's a very touchy topic for him. Anyone that insults his nose is in for some mayhem reminiscent of scenes from Killer Clowns from Outer Space.Captain KuroKuro is an intelligent and devious pirate and captain of the Black Cat Pirates. He doesn't look much like a pirate, though. He looks more like a mortician with his librarian-like glasses, slender build, and black jacket and tie. But rest assured, he's a deadly wolf in sheep's clothing. During his heyday as a pirate, he and his gang were quite successful at pillaging. But Kuro, a very intelligent man, lost interest in the pirate life. Like most other pirates, the authorities and bounty hunters were constantly chasing him. He could hardly spend all the loot he was getting. He devised a sinister plan to leave the pirate life by making it seem that he had been captured and executed. He hid himself in a small village, waiting for the right time to put his plan into action.

Kuro fights with gloves that have ridiculously long razor-like claws. He possesses super-human speed, which makes his claws even more deadly. He's so fast that when he's attacking he can usually only be seen as a blur.DjangoA member of the Black Cat gang, Django is Kuro's right hand man and bears an uncanny resemblance to Michael Jackson. That's because the character was indeed modeled after the Moonwalker himself. One Piece relies on sight gags pretty often, and MJ's face is always good for a couple of laughs. Django even breaks out the moonwalk on occasion. His unique talent is the ability to hypnotize almost anyone at will. He's not one of the main bad guys, but he's worth an honorable mention.

English Adaptations: Beware! Here Be Dragons

The One Piece anime was first adapted for US audiences by 4Kids in 2004. This version first aired on Fox and then moved to Cartoon Network's Toonami. For most non-otaku in America this version was their first experience with One Piece, and that's unfortunate.Why? Because the 4Kids dub is just plain awful, that's why. Actually, "awful" doesn't even come close to accurately describing it, no single word can really convey just how bad it is. Imagine repeatedly stabbing yourself in the ear with a rusty dental tool for 24 minutes. That's how painful the dub is to watch. Besides the actual acting, the 4Kids version also has edits to the show's content. Besides the aforementioned removal of Sanji's cigarette, the pirate guns were changed into water guns, and there's the infamous "hammer gun" edit that changed a flintlock pistol into a poorly edited and absolutely ridiculous hammer on a spring with a trigger attached.Thankfully, FUNimation picked up the ball that 4Kids dropped and started adapting the series. The new version features new voice actors and fewer edits (though Sanji still doesn't have his cig back, at least it wasn't replaced with a freakin' lollipop).FUNimation plans to distribute One Piece in unedited DVD box sets, with both English and the original Japanese language tracks. The first sets will include 13 episodes each, and start at episode #144 (picking up where the 4Kids license left off at episode #143), but FUNimation plans to eventually re-dub the first 143 episodes of the series and release them to DVD. You won't be able to get your hands on any of this stuff until 2008 though.Since much of the English-language adaptation of the anime series has some pretty big flaws, fans looking to get into One Piece might want to start with the manga instead. The art in the manga is pretty good, and a lot of the jokes just seem to work better in manga form. Also, the story is a wee bit better in the manga and the English translation doesn't venture far from the original storyline.One Piece sometimes suffers from the same problems that many long series have to deal with; stale content, random new characters, and long story arcs that have nothing to do with the main storyline. But for the most part, the One Piece franchise delivers a good, silly action story with some unique characters and enough material to keep you entertained for years.